Monica Owens tells all, well, tells some

You know you’re a political junkie when … you read an interview with Monica Owens and say to yourself, “That’s not right because she wasn’t even born yet.”

Owens, the daughter of former Gov. Bill Owens, was featured today in The Denver Post’s must-read weekly feature Bar&Grilled.

She was quoted as saying, “Since I was 3, he was in elected office.”

I shot an e-mail to Owens and Owens, questioning that detail: “Your mom was pregnant with you when your dad first ran for the House, as I recall. He was sworn in January and you were born in March. This is all from memory and, granted, it ain’t what it used to be.”

The ex gov wrote back: “Great catch — was sworn in January 1983.”

Me and one of daddy's signs.

The younger (and prettier) Owens wrote that she said in her 27 years her dad has only been out of office three years, but it came out wrong.

2) When Owens left office in 2006 because of term limits, I did a Q&A with the three Owens children. The governor initially turned down my request so I bypassed him, and worked with Monica and spokesman Dan Hopkins, and we finally got “the big man,” as his kids jokingly called him, to relent.

Here’s the most amazing part of today’s interview with Bill Husted:

BH: What do you dislike about your appearance?

Owens: I am happy with what I am.

Wow. How many people ever say that?

Here’s my story from the Rocky Mountain News about Growing Up Owens:

Bill and Frances Owens’ three children have never known a life outside politics.

Frances was pregnant when Bill campaigned for his first office, a state House seat from Aurora.

The rookie Republican was two months into his first legislative session when their eldest child, Monica, was born in 1983. Mark arrived in 1986, followed by Brett in 1991.

Owens would go on to serve in the state Senate, as state treasurer and then as governor.

With Owens’ eighth and final year as governor coming to an end, his children were asked about the perks and perils of being a politician’s kid.

Monica made a splash on the night of the gubernatorial inauguration in 1999. The then-15-year-old stole the show after being asked about her dad.

“He’s cheap,” she said. “Like when we go out to eat, he makes us drink water instead of getting pop.”

Two days later, in his first State of the State speech, Bill Owens said his proposed tax cut would save the average Colorado family about $600 over five years.

“I’d even be able to buy the kids soft drinks when we go out to eat,” he deadpanned.

The public loved it, but Monica’s days of making off-the-cuff comments to the media were over. Her parents wanted their kids to lead lives that were as normal as possible.

“Anybody in public office knows you can’t really lead an ordinary life, but you sure can try,” Frances Owens said at the time.

But the governor did mention his children from time to time.

“For the past 18 months, no Colorado car has been hit by a car driven by Monica Owens,” he announced in 2003, during his State of the State when talking about insurance costs.

Joey Bunch has been a reporter for 28 years, including the last 12 at The Denver Post. For various newspapers he has covered the environment, water issues, politics, civil rights, sports and the casino industry.